Started with protests in Daraa in 2011, the Syrian conflict rapidly turned into a war with a number of foreign powers supporting various militant groups (including al-Qaeda-linked) against the government of Bashar al-Assad. Since then, the country has been a point of instability in the Middle East.Russia began a military intervention in Syria in 2015 after an official request by the Syrian government for military help against militant groups.This allowed the Syrian government to survive and to regain initiative in a battle against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda), ISIS and other militant groups.

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At least five British soldiers were killed in a rocket attack by ISIS in the village of al-Shaafah in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, al-Watan newspaper reported on January 9. Several more soldiers were reportedly injured in the incident. They were airlifted to a hospital in Hasakah.

If this were confirmed, this would be the second incident including casualties among British forces deployed in Syria in several days. On January 6, 2 British Special Forces soldiers were injured in an ISIS attack, also in Deir Ezzor province.

On January 7, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also recalled Washington’s contribution to the war on ISIS in Syria and Iraq by claiming that the US had eliminated 99% of ISIS’ Caliphate.

“We’ve taken down 99 percent of the caliphate. Ninety-nine percent of the caliphate. That should be the first sentence in every story. Right? Everybody agree?” Pompeo told reporters as he was leaving for his Middle East round. “Anybody dispute the facts? This has been an enormously successful campaign,” he added.

It’s hard to deny that the US-led coalition was forced to react to the Russian military operation in Syria by intensifying its own anti-ISIS campaign in the country. However, it remains unclear how Washington was able to eliminate 99% of ISIS’ Caliphate by limiting its operations against the terrorist group to Iraq and northeastern Syria only.

After ten days of clashes, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) reached a ceasefire putting an end to this round of escalation in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

The agreement was likely reached after Turkish mediation. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu even claimed that “Ankara has taken the necessary steps to stop these [HTS] attacks”.

Under the agreement, which was signed by both groups at the early hours of January 10, all the areas controlled by the NFL will be ruled by HTS’ Salvation Government. The deal boosts further the already strong positions of HTS in northwestern Syria.

Meanwhile, the Turkish-backed Syrian Free Police (FSP) announced that it had suspended the work in all of its centers through the opposition-held part of northwestern Syria until a “further notice” due to “new circumstances.”

In its official statement, the FSP also said that will hand over all of its centers to the local authorities in each area and will distribute its remaining funds among its personnel. These procedures suggest that the FSP may never resume its work.

The U.K. has no business being there ! They are not an empire any more (as much as some deluded Brits may still think they are) !
They should do like their friends the yanks are doing and pack their suitcases and back home !

Master Oroko

I agree, though even so, any useless death is pretty sad.

stary ujo

Hundred years do Britain robbery and killed unguilty citizens all around world ! Now be coming revenge for all kolonial EU !

Master Oroko

Well, maybe so, but one could say that the British troops are just doing their jobs.

stary ujo

7 years underfucking legal goverment of Syria under false evidence about chemical weapons opposite civlians.This was fake ,similar as in Iraq ! Yes , British troops do their dirty job and must to keep risk about they life….for who ??

Master Oroko

I guess you have a point. Frankly, I wish the fighting would just stop.

stary ujo

You believe me , when go out all illegally Westerns , Russians to solve this problem , with Iran and Hezballah .But Westerns want stay there for ever !! They are invest mld.$ and £ and wants Syrian oil !

Master Oroko

I get your point. I suppose only one person is the culprit here…

Tommy Jensen

So our banks can survive. We cant live without papermoney.

paul ( original )

Do you mean ‘they were just obeying orders’?

Master Oroko

Maybe that’s a poor excuse. But even so, I don’t like the futility of it all.

FlorianGeyer

They must have realised that they were illegally carrying arms in Syria though ?

The Nuremburg trials created the precedent that a soldier cannot use the excuse ‘ I was following orders’ whilst carrying out illegal acts :)

Men were hanged for that.

Tommy Jensen

Ancient times. Today we have International rule based order.

FlorianGeyer

Ah yes, I forgot that Tommy.

The Vikings similarly had such a Rule Based Order in the UK and elswhere and even today mass graves of their subjects are being discovered :)

andyoldlabour

Only ever the ones on the losing side. As history has shown, if you win a war then all your crimes are forgotten.

FlorianGeyer

Yes and the UK never even considered that they would be on the losing side.

That in itself displays the paucity of British ‘intelligence’ which is due to building echo chambers and not debating chambers.

jorge

Well, these died really fighting ISIS.

Master Oroko

I guess.

stary ujo

What do British servicemembers illegally on teritory of Syria ? USA destroy 99 % ISIS ? ISIS are children and proxy army of Juesej ! Mr.Pompeo ,please you dont donkie from self !

Mistaron

Reporting on our involvement in Syria and Ukraine here in the UK is virtually non-existent. I doubt most of the British population even knows that we are involved in waging these illegal wars. In the meantime our government keeps squeezing every penny from the poorest in its idealogical stripping of our public services all in the name of “austerity”. There seems to be plenty of money for waging war. We need to ask our government what the hell did those poor bastards die for when they shouldn’t have been there in the first place?

stary ujo

Three British politicians Blair , Brown and May are war criminals and British citizens do nothing ! British citizens arent interesting what do around their country . I am do 8 years in Britain and know
thinking my colleagues . They speak me -peter fuck politicians – main worry was weekly salory .
This is British society !

You can call me Al

May I strongly advise that before you slag my Country off, that you reside in (somehow), that you learn to write the fucking language.

By the way, please do not forget David Cameron.

paul ( original )

Regardless of history’s rights and wrongs, it’s clear that amongst us there are many who hate the our guts . They come here with vengeance in their minds ,but the elites treat them as saviours. Many are given advantages that Joe Blogs could never hope to obtain. In return they endlessly tell us what shits we are. My concern is not to apologise and recompense, but to simply continue to survive.

purplelibraryguy

In all of history I don’t think any country has ever gone after its leaders for war crimes committed against other places. So it’s not like Britain is unusual there.

andyoldlabour

Why are you in Britain if you hate us so much – just go, get out now!

Thunder

i say the same about you brits when it comes to canada australia and new zealand to name a few get the fck out white man!!!brit get off our fckn lands and give them back to the tribes or be fckn destroyed!!!or maybe i’ll just invade engand huh white man??

Thunder

but i assure you white man brits you won’t see ME fckn coming child killas and eaters!!!

Αnd the milenials…which is imo worse than all the above you mentioned…

FlorianGeyer

Its official. All Snowflakes if military age are now wanted by the British military. Even women can join the Paras now and it goes without saying that a Snowflake who was born with a penis , who now self identifies as a woman can also join the Paras :)

FlorianGeyer

No medals for them either :)

Tommy Jensen

They died for world peace. If Syria has been smashed we have smashed Lebanon and Iran afterwards, and finally Russia had collapsed again into our hands.

We would have ruled the world.

But then an unprofessional, amateurish, intellectual dwarf, a new Hitler, a leader made of concrete without empathy for other peoples feelings or International rule based order arrived in Syria, with an uncontrolled burning personal desire to be an “equal partner”, ruining everything!

Barry Warmkessel

Good riddance! The UK was not invited to Syria.

OGYGIAN

Get out of all those shithole moslem countries. Especially if you;re doing 9 years or less …NO PENSIONS …..

Hisham Saber

there are pensions in just about every muslim country you charlatan. obviously you don’t know what your talking about.

it is in the west that pensions, medical insurance going away-non existent , retirement reserves bundled into bad-toxic stocks, annuities and the stock market jewish shell game have bled the people dry.

the future is in china, that lifted 850 million people out of poverty since 1980. they are/have built mega-metropolises, super rail lines and an extensive highway system all over the country, and now the world.

‘ shithole’ muslim countries? women in Egypt were allowed to vote before they were in Britain and the u.s. , shithead.

Tommy Jensen

Let me add, the Sumer ‘the land of civilized kings’ earliest known civilisation in Iraq 5500-4000 BC.
Later ancient Egypt with high civilised culture, own advanced scriptures and high civilised laws from 3000 BC.
Seems we never again reached the dignity of these civilisations.

Tommy Jensen

I agree with Pompeo that US took out 99% of ISIS.
We are leaving to clumsy Putin and Assad to struggle the next 5 years with the last 1% of ISIS.

stary ujo

After to come Russians and Iran during 2 years , start situation change to success Syria , where was USA a NATO ? USA and Israel are cancer of world !

Jonathan Cohen

Pompeo is a pompous ass. Perhaps he mean’t that the US helped take out 99% of ISIS, meaning that the job is almost done. But taking credit for even half is of course, ridiculous. Thanks, Russia, and even Iran.

Radom Persey

Imperialists fighting mad terrorists and dying. At least they aren’t colonizing and exploiting poor people this time!